Interpreting Hobbes

Undergraduate / Graduate

Thomas Hobbes is one of the most controversial thinkers in the history of political thought. This graduate seminar explores widely disparate interpretations of the Malmesbury philosopher's political thought, especially, his magnum opus, The Leviathan. We will examine the hermeneutical engagements of Michael Oakeshott, Carol Pateman, Quentin Skinner, Richard Tuck, Leo Strauss, Michel Foucault, Carl Schmitt, and Jean Hampton, among others.